Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Top 10 Christmas Gifts for Babies and Toddlers

This past year we received some amazing Christmas and birthday gifts for Judah that he's used all year long. He was 9 months old when he received them and still loves them at 18 months. Great toys that hold his interest and cultivate learning have been key especially since we've had baby #2. I've been recommending these items to friends, so I figured I'd compile them here on the blog! These are perfect for either gender.

1. Beatbo -- Before you run away from this musical toy, give it a chance. It honestly has some legit sounding dance music -- not your average kids' toy tunes! Our son LOVES it. He plays and dances with it for long periods of time and loves for us to join in. It has alphabet, counting, and color songs, and a button you can press to record your own voice that it autotunes and plays back for you. We keep this in his room and it is perfect when he has room time while I feed the baby.

2. Alphabet dog -- This dog sings the alphabet as you walk him. If you press the letter it goes through multiple things: the letter, the sound it makes, and a word that starts with that letter. Judah astonished me one day when I asked if he wanted more and he said, "M, more!" I had no idea how he knew that and then I figured out it was because of this dog. Another great toy that truly holds his attention.

3. VTech Sit to Stand Walker -- Judah loved this before he could stand, then used it to pull up and walk around, and now still plays with it even though he's been walking for half a year. The music can drive me nuts but it has been a versatile toy for multiple age stages.

4. Shape sorter ball -- So this is expensive. But it's the original Tupperware shape sorter ball. The sweet ladies who kept me in the church nursery gifted us this because it was my favorite when I was little. Judah LOVES THIS THING. So much so that I have to hide it or he becomes obsessed. He has learned all the shapes (although he has trouble saying "trapezoid"...but he seriously holds up a hexagon and says "hexagon"...crazy). It was definitely a learning process for him to be able to put the shapes in by himself but we started early and he was hooked. Most shape sorters have lids that can be taken off but this one doesn't so you're forced to actually put them in the specific shape holes.

5. Stacking bowls -- He stacks them. He rolls them. He spins them. He makes them into balls. He hides the small ones in the big ones. He has loved these for at least a year and the love hasn't faded.

6. Counting basketball goal -- This is the updated version of the one we have because I can't find the old one. Ours doesn't have a soccer goal and is less fancy. But besides being such a fun toy, this has truly helped Judah learn to count. And has also made him think that the number 10 is always one to be celebrated.

7. Classic blocks -- Judah will sit and study these blocks for long amounts of time. He loves finding certain letters and looking at the pictures. And then of course they are perfect for building towers and working on fine motor skills!

8. Flash cards -- There is a series of these cards and we have the First Words and the Counting ones. It has helped him learn all the words and he also simply loves taking them out of the box and putting them back in.

10. BOOKS! -- This deserves a post of its own because there are SO many that we love. (EDIT: I made a post of our Top 20 Books for Toddlers! Yay!) Last year Jordan and I only got Judah a tote bag (see below) and some books. We knew the grandparents would get him toys! Some of our favorite books off the top of my head are Goodnight Moon, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Go! Go! Go! Stop!, The Going to Bed Book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, any ABC books, Where's Spot?, and goodness if your kid doesn't have the Jesus Storybook Bible go get that RIGHT now. :) Usborne Books is an awesome source for books as well -- you can go to my friend Abby's site to shop there!

*Honorable Mention* -- Lands' End Large Zip Top Canvas tote bag -- I got the idea from Hayley Morgan's post about getting each kid a tote bag for their first Christmas. This is really more for us right now, but will hopefully last a long time for Judah to use for years. I already have Levi's as well!

*Disclaimers* -- I think experiences are amazing gifts as well and I definitely don't want you to fill your house with toys! These are just ones that are tried and true for us and I'm glad we have. Some affiliate links are used, but as always the opinions are totally my own!

8 comments:

Thank you!!! I've seen that first toy around everywhere and assumed it was just another junk toy to clutter the house... I might put it on my 12 month olds Christmas list, she loves any toys with music.

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Welcome to The Christian Wife Life!

Hey, y'all! I'm Ashley Shelley. A follower of Christ. Smitten wife to Jordan. Mom to Judah (March 2015) and Levi (May 2016). 29 years old. In Raleigh, NC. Redeemed and set free through Jesus! On a daily journey of growing closer to the Lord and learning what it means to follow Him in life, marriage, and motherhood.